Chapter 35 Chapter Thirty-Five

Standing on the top of the city tower, you can have a panoramic view of the distant mountains and hills, but it is difficult to see Shenyang City, and it is even more difficult to see the movement in the city. However, even though his eyesight was not enough, Yuan Chonghuan still looked around for a long time, but the expression on his face changed several times from time to time, sometimes suspicious, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes frowning. Zu Dashou, who was with him, couldn't guess what he was thinking in his heart, and could only accompany him patiently and without saying a word, which made the atmosphere even more solemn.

It wasn't until the sun moved westward that Yuan Chonghuan began to look away from the distance, and his footsteps began to move; after that, he sighed deeply: "I don't know whether the news is true or not-a person who has experienced many battles will never recover from illness. Die or die?" Zu Dashou immediately understood the doubts in his heart, but subconsciously and without thinking, he answered him: "After all, I am old! Seventy years old - experienced in hundreds of battles, that is the age of youth!" Yuan Chonghuan unconsciously nodded his head twice, but still expressed his thoughts in his mouth: "It's best for the slave chieftain to 'use tricks', how can he know that it's not a fake death, so that our army is negligent, and then comes to hide and kill, or send a When people go to sacrifice, they can get a glimpse of the truth—the person who goes there should be smart, and they can find out the real news!"

Zu Dashou hesitated for a moment, and put forward his own opinion: "From the point of view of the general, the slave chieftain is the king of a country after all. If he uses his own life and death to make tricks, it is no different from child's play. It is not only bad for himself, but also a fool. Even if our own soldiers, generals and people win battles in the future, they won’t be worth it—” After a pause, he expressed his opinion more bravely: "Your Excellency wants to send envoys to mourn, and the last general also thinks that you can't—" He went on to elaborate on the reasons for his opposition: "The imperial court will definitely not allow it, and it will be suspected that the Lord will cooperate with the enemy!"

Although he is a general who practiced martial arts and joined the army, his father and ancestors have accumulated far more "official experience" than Yuan Chonghuan, who was directly admitted to the Jinshi as an official; He felt much more—he simply stated: "Your Excellency is neither a member of the eunuch party nor a confidant of Wei Zhongxian. The reason why he can keep his current official position is the victory in the Battle of Ningyuan; but this is only because there is no one in the court. To be able to defend the Liao Dynasty, you must rely on the strength of adults, but it does not mean that you have not been tabooed—"

He clearly pointed out: After the great victory in Ningyuan, the imperial court rewarded him for his merits. Yuan Chonghuan, who was born and died, was only promoted to the governor of Liaodong. Wei Liangqing, who was half-distracted, was conferred the title of "Uncle Suning" because he was Wei Zhongxian's nephew because of "Xu Ningyuan's work in breaking the siege"! Later, Wei Zhongxian was even "worried" and sent eunuchs to supervise the army... All this means that Yuan Chonghuan's situation in the imperial court is not "stable as a rock", nor can he "sit back and relax"-on this occasion, let alone do something that may be criticized by others!

"As long as the theory of 'cooperating with the enemy' comes together, my lord will not be able to gain a foothold in the court—in the past, Lord Sun was not charged with such a serious crime, and as an emperor's teacher, he still resigned—my lord, please think again !" He spoke earnestly, but Yuan Chonghuan sighed secretly, and whispered quietly in his heart: "Why don't I know this? In today's Ming Dynasty, the real emperor is Wei Zhongxian. If I don't follow in the footsteps of Lord Sun, then I will be the emperor." It’s a miracle! But it’s just that every day I’m in Liao Dynasty, I have to do my duty all day, try my best to resist Houjin, settle down the people, and regain the homeland—”

But although he didn't say anything, his eyes showed it; after a while, he stretched out his hand and patted Zu Dashou's shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "In the future, if I am resigned, I have no choice but to admit it; but at this moment, But it is a special moment, and things cannot be stopped for fear of resentment—” Then, he analyzed carefully: "If the slave chieftain is really dead, we must pay more attention to the evolution of the situation in other countries-who will be the successor, and whether there will be civil strife among the princes will affect the situation in the whole Liao Dynasty."

As he spoke, he seemed to be laughing dumbfounded, and said in a self-deprecating manner: "If the nephews of the slave chieftains start killing each other because of seizing the throne, wouldn't our army be able to take advantage of the situation and destroy Houjin? God help Daming? God help me Yuan Chonghuan?" Zu Dashou was dumbfounded, and after a while he said: "This, is it possible?" Yuan Chonghuan gave a wry smile with a "chi": "However, there are nine out of ten unsatisfactory things in the world; who are the slave chieftains? Will they make arrangements sooner? The spies once reported that someone in Shenyang City said that Dorgon would be appointed Emperor, but it’s hard to tell if it’s true or not—if it’s true, it’s a blessing from heaven to Daming!”

Zu Dashou thought for a while, and said to Yuan Chonghuan cautiously: "What kind of arrangements the slave chieftains made will not be known; however, the last general lived in Liaodong for generations, and knew that the system of succession of the Jurchen Khan was originally related to the Han people. It's different, it doesn't matter if you establish a leader or a descendant—" Yuan Chonghuan sighed and said: "Therefore, it is even more necessary to go to find out - ordinary spies can only hide among the people, and what they inquire about are peripheral news that is several layers away; only by sending envoys to sacrifice can the investigation be done! "

Moreover, he still had another thought in his mind: "If the Hou Jin really suffers a national mourning and the new king succeeds to the throne, he must first settle down, recuperate, appoint new officials, and raise the people; this time is a good opportunity to discuss peace—— Broken, if the two sides negotiate a peace agreement, the vitality can be revived and it will become a paradise again!" Therefore, he would rather risk being suspicious, and insist on sending envoys to Shenyang to pay homage to Nurhachi... Before the envoy set off, he still earnestly instructed: "If the slave chief really dies, he must inquire and determine the successor—"

And although he is a rare talent with a strong will, great vision, and excellent ability, he was late and one step late in judging and responding to this matter, and he died because he failed to make an accurate guess. As a result, the envoys he sent did not gain much from this trip. The generation of the second-generation leader of the Houjin Kingdom was successfully completed long before the envoys he sent arrived in Shenyang—his sacrifice was meaningless to the Houjin Kingdom. The rumors released by Abahai soon subsided after her burial. There is no disagreement among the Baylors of the Eight Banners—no disputes, turmoil, conflicts, and civil strife that can give the enemy a chance to take advantage of it; Huang Taiji, who has been in business for many years, succeeded to the throne smoothly. Daishan, the oldest, assisted him wholeheartedly and took the initiative to plan everything for him——Daishan first asked his sons Yuetuo and Sahalin to propose in public: "The country cannot be without a king for a day, and it is better to make a plan early. Four Baylor Talented and virtuous, deeply attached to the sacred heart of the late emperor, everyone is convinced, please quickly succeed to the throne—” Of course, this is just a formality - Amin, Mangurtai, Abatai, Degelei, Azige, etc. who had been discussed and agreed in private by Daishan, immediately seconded the proposal and jointly drafted the "Letter of Encouragement". On the second day, Daishan presided over the ceremony in which Zhubeile presented the "Letter of Encouragement" to Huang Taiji; Huang Taiji reluctantly accepted after three speeches, provoking the heavy responsibility of completing Nurhachi's behest.